So Tiger Woods is back on the prowl and all the signs from last week’s hotly anticipated return are hugely encouraging.

Of course - as this column was at pains to emphasise last week - it’s very much early days and everything surrounding the game’s greatest phenomenon’s latest comeback should be viewed with caution.

But at least this time it’s cautious optimism, rather than the worrying misfiring returns to action that we have witnessed on his previous returns to action after back surgery.

From the moment he teed off his first competitive appearance in 301 days at the Hero Challenge in the Bahamas, the signs were promising.

A three under par opening round 69 was pleasing enough for fans, but it was more the manner in which he was smashing that ball around the Albany resort that thrilled most.

Tiger Woods was looking back to his best during the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas (Image: Getty Images North America)

“Bad back, my arse,” brilliantly summed up the parody Twitter account Darth Monty with the posting of one video of him absolutely lashing one of the many long iron shots that impressed so much.

Of all the unanswered questions in the build up to this, his return from a fourth bout of spinal surgery, the biggest and darkest of them all was surely - can his back hold up this time.

Judging by the ferocity of his swing speed and his ability to outdrive playing partner Justin Thomas - 17 years his junior - the early indications are that this time, thankfully, the answer is yes.

It was viewed by many as the last chance saloon when Woods resorted to spinal fusion surgery (average age of most recipients 58 years old) but the extreme nature of the op appears to have boldened Woods.

For there was no sense of him feeling the need to protect his back, as was so often the case with the tentative manner in which he nursed his way around the golf course in previous aborted comebacks.

Tiger Woods walks off of the 18th green after finishing the second round of the Hero World Challenge (Image: Getty Images North America)

Tiger Woods plays a shot on the first hole during the final round of the Hero World Challenge (Image: Getty Images North America)

The high, booming draw was back - booming massive, arcing drives, three woods and long irons to their intended target in a manner genuinely reminiscent of the Goat (that’s the Greatest Of All Time) in his prime.

Of course we’ll need to wait and see how his body reacts to the pressure of his first week back, to risk bold declarations that he’s back would still be jumping the gun.

By, my goodness, isn’t it great to see him showing flashes of the past in a manner that suggests it won’t be a flash in the pan.

If he can gradually build on this with a successful Desert Swing in the New Year just imagine the frenzy of excitement golf will be in as the first Major of the year approaches at the Masters.

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Tiger at last back in full swing, a rested and revived Rory McIlroy chasing down his last piece of the Grand Slam collection. Dustin Johnson eager to erase the disappointment of the freak injury he suffered on the eve of last year’s Masters when a fall down stairs forced him to withdraw from an event everyone expected him to win by a mile.

The plots and sub plots coming into the year ahead are mouthwatering already - but there’s little doubt which story the majority of golf lovers would like to see most of all.

The fairytale return to the top by the legend who just six months ago seemed lost at his lowest ebb at the side of a highway, shackled in the handcuffs of a police patrolman. If last week has reminded us of anything, it’s that Tiger Woods remains the biggest draw in the sport, despite being just seven months shy of the 10th anniversary of his last Major win.

On any other week do you honestly think the performance of the reigning world number one, shooting 76 and 72 over the weekend to finish in a tie for third last, would be ignored as little more than an afterthought?

Tiger's return won't take away from Rickie Fowler's achievements but will gain headlines around the world

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Equally, would Rickie Fowler closing with a course record score of 61 to win the title by four shots become a distant second in the headlines to any other guy rolling in 10 shots back for a share of ninth place?

Of course not. But such is the power and allure of the Tiger.

Heck, even ask those players themselves whose score they checked first after signing their own card and chances are they’d have said the same.

Make no mistake, they all want to see Tiger roar back almost as much as the rest of us. Maybe not to the extent of his heyday when he greedily hogged almost every big title from the rest.

But these players appreciate what he has meant to the game - and could yet mean for another decade to come if these green shoots of recovery bloom into life.